Sawing and Drying

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Need to kill some bugs

12/21/15       
Tim

I have the opportunity to get a lot of walnut (5000+ bf) from a friends widow who passed. I inspected the wood which is in a pole barn, and has evidence of powder post beetles. Some of this wood was milled in the 1980's. I pulled a few pieces and ran them through a planer and found that the damage seems to be limited to the sap wood. The MC was about 12% (I live in upstate NY). I would like to build a box about 4'x4'x12' and add a heat source that would allow me to kill the bugs. What can I use as a heat source for the box?

12/21/15       #2: Need to kill some bugs ...
Bill Smith

Website: http://www.esf.edu/wus/

A portable propane or electric heater might work, but specific effort would have to be made to assure sufficient heat distribution through stickered lumber. Temperature would have to be monitored and of course you would need to be very, very concerned and cautious over fire risk.
If you are convinced damaged is limited to the sapwood perhaps that material could be edged off and separately burned.
Another option is to see if a pest control fumigation service is available.

12/22/15       #3: Need to kill some bugs ...
Gene Wengert-Wood Doc

The planer shavings now have the insects in them, if it is indeed the lyctid PPB. The planed pieces may also. You need to deal with this as well as the rest of the lumber.

Do not allow the non-infected lumber of any species to get close to the untreated wood or shavings or sawdust.

Note tha there are also other PPB that infect wood during air drying that do not survive in very dry wood. One common one is the ambrosia beetle. So, Dryng to under 9% can get rid of them.

12/23/15       #5: Need to kill some bugs ...
Tim

Thanks for the info. The plan for the wood is to put it in a pole barn, not near any other wood, and kiln it as I have time. Aft the kiln I would store it in my garage, probably ripping the sap wood off first.

I was unaware that the dust could also be an issue, I'm glad I haven't moved any of the wood home. I ran the wood through the planer where the infested wood currently is. The dust was collected by a dust collector and I swept up after ward and all went to the trash.

12/25/15       #6: Need to kill some bugs ...
Don Lewis

most residential duty portable heaters have safety switches that turn them off at temperatures that are too low to kill bugs. Some will stay running but most won't so you have to be a little creative.

12/26/15       #7: Need to kill some bugs ...
Stevem

A 120V base board heater can be made to work. They come with a built in safety thermostat that needs to be dealt with though. Using a thermostat from a water heater installed in the baseboard unit bypassing the safety one works for me to get to a controlled 140 degrees. No warranty and no guarantees. 24-48 hours and bugs are dead!

12/27/15       #8: Need to kill some bugs ...
Gene Wengert-Wood Doc

One reason for the upper limit switch is the durability of the nsulation on the wires.

12/28/15       #9: Need to kill some bugs ...
Tim

I'll check into base board heater, I had looked quick but saw they had the safety limit in them so I ruled it out. Bypassing the thermostat seems plausible. I have a relative who is an electrician I can discuss the insulation on the wiring with.

What is the minimum temperature I need to maintain to kill the bugs? Whats a good method of making sure the core gets hot enough?

12/29/15       #10: Need to kill some bugs ...
Don Lewis

There are complicated ways to make sure the wood gets to 56c all the way through for at least 30 minutes. But they can be more trouble than you need. if you get the chamber to 140f and hold it overnight, you should be fine. This is not for export certification


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